The Battle For Bennett
by CelticH2O
Summary: Since the first time she saw him, Sophie knew she wanted Zane for herself. And Rikki was the only person to stand in her way. Envious of Rikki and desperate for Zane, Sophie accidentally overhears Rikki's secret and takes a trip to Mako Island on a full moon. Now, she has everything Rikki does... and the battle for Zane Bennett is on.
1. Vying

**A/N: New story time! And after FINALLY getting time off for the Christmas holiday, I can sit down and write again! Quicker updates for the duration of the next two or three weeks are now upon us... :)**

**I've had this idea in the back of my mind for ages, and with minimal writing time, it's been tough. So this is my holiday gift to all my lovely readers!**

**Also, a note to _Eva's Story_ readers: I'm doing my very best to write as fast as I can. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up by Wednesday or Thursday, but I'll do my hardest to have it up earlier! Thanks heaps for sticking with me! I can't tell you how much each and every one of you mean to me!**

**Please review (comments, criticisms, etc.) and let me know if this story is worth continuing. Enjoy _The Battle for Bennett!_**

**Happy Holidays! :)**

* * *

"What does _she_ have that I don't?"

That was the question always on Sophie Benjamin's mind. And no matter how hard she tried, she could never find the answer.

Sophie sighed, clearing one of the tables at Rikki's Café. Placing a coffee mug on the tray to be returned into the back room for washing, Sophie enviously gazed at Rikki. As Zane came out of his office and greeted Rikki with a kiss on the cheek, Sophie's eyes narrowed, piercing through Rikki like a dagger.

Ever since Zane had confessed his love for Rikki, she realized that she never lost her feelings for him. And as soon as they got back together, life had been miserable for Sophie. Her job was demoted from manageress to waitress, with Rikki taking her place. The café had an unexpected boom in business and it had done its best markings in months. Zane and Rikki wouldn't stop smiling and were now near attached at the hip; that's what annoyed Sophie the most.

With Will spending most of his time with Bella, and Zane only ordering Sophie around, she had no one to talk to. It was quite lonesome, and her anger was beginning to swell into a boiling point. Yet, everything that has happened to her within the past year was because of Rikki. Her chances with Zane, her job, even her downhill relationship with Will, could be traced back to her.

Sophie glanced back over at a smiling Rikki. She scoffed at the sight. That smile on her face made Sophie envious, wanting to smack the happy look from Rikki's face. And she had Zane Bennett. Oh, that Zane Bennett. He was the thing that Sophie truly desired. After all, he was handsome and rich, an absolute match for Sophie. But her eyes narrowed once again towards Rikki. What had _she_ done to deserve him? Nothing! She never worked in her life, never dedicated her life to help pursue her brother's dreams, or be a hard-working student. Zane waits on her hand and foot just by the wag of her petty little finger. Disgusting. At least she would treat him with more respect.

"That crazy little son-of-a-bitch," Sophie bitterly eyed Rikki.

"Excuse me?" An outraged customer asked, looking up at Sophie. He was sitting down at one of the tables, being waited on by Sophie.

She shook her head, finally coming back to realization. Clearing her throat, Sophie distracted herself from her envy and focused on keeping her job. It was the only thing that kept her somewhat attached to Zane. "Oh, no, sir. Not you. Is there anything I can get you?"

The customer grunted in annoyance and snapped back, "My strawberry-mango smoothie for about the fifth time."

Yet, Sophie's attention was once again lost when Zane signaled to Rikki to come into his office. The serious raise of his eyebrows, which Sophie had noted it meant something important, made Rikki immediately follow him. She shuffled after him, her own face puzzled, and they shut the door behind them. Sophie's ears did their best to eavesdrop into the conversation, but the noise of the café was too great. The only thing she could focus on, though, was finding out a way to listen to them.

By the look of Sophie's absentminded expression, the customer sighed loudly and exclaimed, "Did you hear me?"

"What?" was Sophie's first response. Another grunt from the customer indicated to her that she should just pretend like she heard. "Yeh, of course. I'll be right back with your order."

Sophie headed behind the counter, but she was instantly distracted when she saw the closed door. It was calling her, enticing her to come closer. She gave in quickly and went towards the door, giddily anxious to hear what they were saying. Yet, deep down inside, she desperately wanted to be with Zane and could take Rikki's place. Was there any way for her to surpass Rikki in his eyes?

Fiddling with packs of coffee near the door, Sophie pretended to work, instead of spying and invading privacy. Not that that affected Sophie at all. She put all her effort into hearing the conversation, or whatever was left of it, and finally her work had paid off.

"…Realize you can't do that, right?" Zane asked Rikki. The voices were muffled, but Sophie could hear them fine enough.

"Oh, what's the point? Mako and the moonpool are destroyed, so we wouldn't be affected." Rikki countered his argument.

She heard Zane get somewhat frustrated. "Rikki, the full moon could still affect you guys!"

Sophie's expression became puzzled and had no idea what they could be talking about. Her curiosity was bouncing off the walls.

"We'll be fine; we haven't been moonstruck in ages! And we still have plenty of time. I mean, we'll still cover up the windows and be fully prepared if that'll make you feel better."

"I'd feel better if I was there. Spend some more quality time together." Sophie made a disgustful face after Zane had said this. Her breath roared with jealousy.

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a girls' night?"

"Did I make the mistake of falling in love with a girl who was smarter than me?"

"Yet I'm pretty sure it's the best decision you've ever made." Sophie looked like she was going to be sick.

Zane laughed. "Yeh, it was, wasn't it?"

"Would you mind if I went out with the girls for a swim? Cleo keeps bugging me that the reefs are beautiful lately." Rikki smiled. "I could use a nice swim to Mako anyway. Someone's got to clean up the place."

"Rikki? Cleaning? I didn't think those words went together." Zane couldn't help but laugh.

"They don't. I'll make sure Bella and Cleo do though. So tell Nate that she'll be late to rehearsal later."

"Will do." He paused for a moment and then started again. "Rikki?"

"Yeh?"

"Let's make a pact. Nothing will ever come between us ever again." There was a hope in Zane's voice that Sophie couldn't stand. The thought of him actually loving her was unthinkable.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. You have yourself a deal." Sophie could imagine Rikki smiling with absolute joy.

"I love you." Zane said as the doorknob began to turn. Sophie's alarm system rang with nervousness and quickly went behind the counter to look busy.

"Love you too." A smiling Rikki came out as she shut the door. But, when she saw Sophie, her smile disappeared and headed out the beaded curtains.

Turning her head back towards the office door, Sophie's mind couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about before. Everyone knew that Rikki, Bella, and Cleo were the hardest girls to figure out in the Gold Coast… so was that why? Mako Island, the full moon, and a 'moonpool'. None of it made sense.

It was confusing on the surface, but inside, she was tingling with excitement. Perhaps she had finally found a way to beat Rikki, her way to get back into Zane's life. Whatever Rikki was hiding, she was determined to find out what it is and surpass those standards. But how?

The only thing that Sophie was sure of was that the battle for Zane Bennett was on.


	2. Scheming

**A/N: Don't you just love summer holidays? I mean, there is so much more time to sit down and write! It's lovely. And look! _The Battle For Bennett_ has finally been updated after six whole months. Took me long enough, yeh? Let's hope that trend does not continue... **

**I'm hoping to be quicker on my updates for all my stories now. My goal is _at least_ one new update a week... but I'd love to surpass that!**

**Anywho, a MASSIVE thanks to everyone who has patiently waited for this. And to everyone who reviewed, followed, favourited, or just read... THANK YOU. You can kindly be rewarded with a new chapter. :)**

**So, please go and enjoy this long-awaited chapter. And, like the chapter title suggests, Sophie is definitely going to be scheming to gain the affection of Mr. Zane Bennett. :)**

* * *

"Damn Google."

Sitting on a stool in the boatshed, Sophie let out a long sigh of frustration and defeat. She slammed her laptop closed and worthlessly pushed it away from her. Numerous pieces of crinkled notebook paper lay on the floor and two pencils lay broken out of anger.

Tightening her hand in a fit of anger, she suddenly felt powerful again. There was no way she couldn't give up—not yet anyway. Sophie smiled victoriously but succumbed to the sound of something breaking. She growled. Her third pencil had been snapped in half with complete ease. Letting her emotions run wild, she threw the pencil across the room. She couldn't help but fantasize that the pencil, now helpless and destroyed, was Rikki.

Scheming and discovering information was practically her strong point, but this time she came up empty-handed. Sophie had very little to go off of, making her even more about what she was dealing with. Perhaps she needed more time to gather information, check some sort of database, corner Rikki into a room…

"Oh, what's the point?" Sophie grumbled to herself and slumped over the desk. That will take way too long. She needed answers soon. Preferably now.

Taking a long sigh, Sophie took out another piece of paper and yet another pencil. It took her awhile before she wrote down anything. Finally, she wrote down the things she heard yesterday at the café:

_Mako Island_

_ "Moonpool"_

_ Full Moon_

Looking at her list, she grumbled in annoyance. Nothing seemed right. Rikki was strange, but why would she be worried about a full moon? Why are they so obsessed with Mako Island? Sophie smiled deviously. _They_ are obsessed with Mako Island. As in Rikki, Cleo, and Bella are in it together. And the best way to get to Rikki is through her friends. With that realization, Sophie wrote added that to her list:

_Bella and Cleo_

But no matter how much she twisted this information, Sophie still had nothing on the girls. Sure, it could prove she was onto something, but it would only be a loosely based theory. And that was not good enough; she wanted a clear-cut fact that would prove that Rikki, or maybe Bella or Cleo, is a freak. That'll help win her Zane for sure.

"But maybe Zane knows about her." She stiffened, knowing that it would put her plan back three steps. If you could even call all of this a plan yet.

Shaking that thought off, she referred back to her list. Mako Island caught her eye. From what she knew, it was important to all three of them. The question of why was the mystery. All it was is a swampy island with bugs and trees. And reefs. And that strange pool.

The pool! That must be the moonpool! And the moon must have something to do with the pool. Smiling victoriously, she circled the three together. Maybe there was a connection after all…

Filled with the hope of progress, Sophie turned back to her laptop and began her research.

* * *

After a half hour, something caught Sophie's eye. Mako Island had been in the news within the past three years. The first was about two months ago when that light rose up to the sky from Mako. It was important—and incredibly odd—but had nothing to do with the girls per se. Yet, just for curiosity and/or future reference, Sophie added that to her list.

The next incident was about one and half years ago. It involved a massive electrical storm around Mako Island. As Sophie read further in-depth, the article stated the strange weather patterns appeared from nowhere and the storm had only been present around the island. Knowing that this bit of information was irrelevant, she was about to click out of it when the picture captured her attention. Right above Mako Island and the lightning was a perfect full moon. Raising her eyebrow, Sophie added the storm next to Mako and the full moon. She knew that there was no connection to exact girls again, but anything about the island could help her figure out the three girls.

Lastly, Sophie found an article that was the most interesting. About three years ago, an old woman's boat had exploded and sunk near Mako Island. The old woman was not present during the matter; however, there was a teenage boy on board who could not escape the vessel. After being down for some time, the boy had claimed that "something" had saved him, a sea monster as he had called it. His doctors had commented and dismissed his claims, saying that the boy had been without oxygen for several minutes. Nonetheless, the boy had continuously claimed that this sea monster existed, even drawing a sketch of the monster's tail. Sophie observed the sketch and froze when she saw the boy's face.

It was Zane Bennett.

Sophie quickly became filled with mixed emotions. After all of this time, Zane himself may know something so vital to her research. It occurred to her that he may be willing to find this sea monster with her. They could be _together_ and realize that the sea monster was Rikki all along. And that they could slay Rikki together.

That was what she was hoping for anyway. But the idea of slaying Rikki definitely remained as an option.

Adding sea monster to her list, she quickly typed that into the search engine. Seeing unfavourable results, she added Mako Island to her search. The results listed were limited; however, the first one listed was a video about another sea monster incident about sixty years ago.

Watching the video closely, the sketch that Zane had drawn was nearly, if not completely, identical to the one from the man in the video. The video also included an interview from a teenage girl who had saved the man. Sophie observed her high confidence and had instantly denied any sight of a sea monster. Her name was said to be Louise Chatham. Seeing instant potential in this woman, she wrote her name down.

Ready to look for more, Sophie was about to open a new tab when she heard someone's footsteps outside the door. In a panic, she closed all evidence to research and merely opened a blank page.

To her luck, it was only her brother. She greeted him casually. "Hey, Will."

He looked up as if not expecting to see her there. "Oh, hi, Soph." He looked around at the mess. "Uh, what have you been up to?"

Cursing silently, she made a mental notice to herself to be more discreet. "Um… just some stuff."

"Really?" Will looked at her strangely and picked up some of the broken pencils. "Looks like something more than 'some stuff'." Picking up some of the papers, he threw them away.

"Don't look at them!" She cried out, earning her another strange look from Will. "I mean, they're addresses to some flats I've been looking at." She silently congratulated herself on a quick recovery.

"That's great, sis!" Will smiled. "But why did you have to make such a mess?"

"I wrote the addresses down and then realized I didn't like them, so I threw them away."

"Well, the bin is right over there." He pointed to a trash bin.

"Of course… " She trailed, hoping to change the subject. "What brings you here?"

He smiled at her. "Well, it is _my_ place. But I came to get my wallet. I left it here."

"And you just realized that now?" Sophie said as Will went to search for it. He headed towards one of the shelves and picked the wallet up.

"Well, I thought I had it, but I didn't. And it got really embarrassing when I was out to lunch with Bella and I didn't have any money. And then she had to pick up the tab." He knocked some of the papers from the shelf, causing to them to go all over the floor. "Great. Well anyway, I have to pay her back and then some."

"Right." Sophie smirked. She watched Will as he picked up the papers. A strange sketch of Bella caught her eye, but he anxiously picked it up before she could get a good look at it.

As soon as he finished, Will quickly went out the door. "Well, I'm off. See you, Soph."

Curiosity got the best of Sophie. Getting off of the stool, she headed towards the same shelf Will was just by. She picked up the papers and searched for the sketch of Bella.

Nothing was out of the ordinary. All of the sketches were normal. Most were shells and various aquatic animals, but nothing suspicious. Until she got to the sketch of Bella.

Her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. Everything she had suspected of them was on this drawing. Connections to Mako Island and the full moon.

And now water.

As much as she was perplexed by this new piece of information, she was even more shocked to see another sketch, which was nearly the same as what Zane and the other man had drawn.

She smiled in triumph. "My, my, Will. What have we got here…?"


End file.
